More Or Less a Rebel
by Blair Cottonelle
Summary: Gohan's switched from homeschooling to public school and is having a hard time making friends, until he meets Jarred. Leader of gang, he is quick to join and make friends. He finds love, hardships, and the learns the consequences of gang life. T for now, may change to M later on. A few OC'S.
1. Chapter 1

"Sorry!" I said as I bumped into another student on my way to my next class. He glared at me as he continued to walk past me.

I sighed as I walked into my next class and sat down in my assigned seat. I looked around the room at the other students. Everyone seemed to be having a conversation with the people sitting next to them. I turned to the person next to me.

"Hi! I'm Gohan!" I said. I smiled as I greeted him, so I wouldn't come across as shy or rude.

He looked at me for a second and then turned away from me and started talking to someone from across the room…well it was worth a try. I took out my notebook, and started doodling.

Nothing much just circles and lines. I was bored. The teacher was really late, and I had no friends to talk to.

I hate this school. I hate it so much. I wish I had never convinced my mom to let me go to a public school. I had thought it would be a good experience being around people my own age. But nobody really likes me. I guess it's because I'm the new kid. I never told my mom any of this because I didn't want her to worry. I just…want to fit in.

"Good morning." The teacher said, finally walking in.

Everyone quieted down and the lesson began. I took notes and listened as the teacher explained probability, then he went on to explain square roots.

"Okay class, now to see who has been paying attention. I have prepared a pop quiz! This will count as a grade." He said.

I smiled, I enjoyed quizzes. I can't help it. I'm an inner nerd. I also loved math and I picked up on the curriculum right away. The teacher handed the quizzes out and had the class put their notes away so they couldn't cheat.

I didn't need to cheat. I got this in the bag. I picked up my pencil and started answering questions. I had just finished when I felt someone nudging me. I looked to my side and it was the guy who I had said hi to at the beginning of class. The one who ignored me.

"What?" I whispered.

"Can you do me a solid?" he asked.

"What?" I asked.

"I wasn't really listening during the lesson. Can I copy off of you?"

"Isn't that cheating?"

"Only if we get caught." He said.

"I don't know…" I said.

"We're friends right?"

"Well no. You ignored me earlier, I'd hardly classify that as friendship." I said.

"I'm sorry…I was just nervous. A smart guy like you talking to a dumbass like myself. Please forgive me, we can be really good friends. My name is Jarred by the way."

I thought about how much trouble we could get in…but then again this was a chance to make a friend. I couldn't pass this up.

"Sure. Just make it quick, we don't want to get caught." I said passing him my paper.

Fortunately he got the job done quickly and handed me my paper back. After ten more minutes the teacher collected our papers and the bell rang for lunch. I walked out the door, but I felt someone grab my arm. I stopped and turned around. Jarred was standing behind me grinning.

"Hey, thanks for the help in there. I appreciate it Gohan."

"No problem."

"What are you doing for lunch?" he asked.

"Getting lunch and eating it." I said.

"With who?"

"Myself."

"Lame, don't you have any other friends here?" he asked.

"No..."

"Eat with me and my crew then. I know what it's like being the new kid." He said.

I smiled.

"Thanks."


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey guys, this is my new friend Gohan. He's in my math class and he totally saved my ass today so give him some respect." Jarred said.

I said hi to his group of friends. They introduced themselves one by one.

"Hi! I'm Sharpener." Said a guy with blonde hair. I shook his hand.

"I'm Erasa!" Said a really perky girl with short blonde hair.

"I'm Landon and this is my twin brother Dylan." I nodded. They looked like tough guys, but then again so did Jarred. Sharpener wasn't intimidating, just really loud.

"And this is my girlfriend! Videl, she's the daughter of Mr. Satan." Jarred said proudly.

"Baby, come here!" he said grabbing her hand.

She smiled at me shyly. "Hi. You look nice. I think you'll have a lot of fun with us." She said quietly.

"She's a bit shy." Jarred said. He kissed her cheek and let her sit back down.

"So what's your story? Transferring here in the middle of the year, did you do something bad? Like get kicked out of your old school?" Erasa asked.

"No. I was homeschooled all my life. I got tired of it so I told my mom I wanted to be around people my own age and so she enrolled me here." I said.

"Ah…so you're not a goody two shoes are you?" Sharpener asked.

"Of course he's not! If he let me cheat off of him, then he's cool enough to hang with us. Cut him some slack." Jarred said.

"So you're the new kid?" Sharpener asked. I nodded.

"Do you smoke? I need a smoke." Jarred asked me.

"I've never smoked before..." I said.

"Wanna try it out, see how you like it?" he asked.

"I guess."

Jarred stood up and we went into the bathroom. There were three other kids smoking, I thought it was really cliché, because I'd seen it on TV so many times. Jarred handed me a cigarette. It felt weird holding one, but what's so bad about it. It's just one time to see if I like it.

"Okay, so you light this end and you put this end in your mouth." Jarred explained. He shared his lighter since I didn't carry one with me. Why would I? I don't usually smoke.

When the cigarette was lit smoke started coming from the other end. I copied Jarreds actions. Breathing in the smoke and blowing it out. I coughed a lot. Jarred laughed.

"It's fine, coughing is normal your first time. Your body isn't used to the smoke." He explained.

I nodded, I couldn't really speak through the coughing. "Thank god." I said, once the coughing stopped. Jarred laughed again.

"I know, the first time sucks, but don't you feel something that makes you want to do it again? I swear the next time is better." He said.

I nodded silently and we went to go eat, it really helped. I was feeling lightheaded. Eventually the bell rang and we went our separate ways. My next few two classes were really boring, but I was really happy I had made some friends. So they weren't quite as tough as they had been the past few days.

Erasa was even in my last period. She joked with me the entire time! I had a great time with her. She is probably the nicest in the group…besides Videl but Videl is pretty shy so I wouldn't know. Erasa asked me about my hobbies and I told her about my first smoke. She laughed and said she had a similar experience.

Eventually the class ended and I bid Erasa goodbye. She smiled and said she'd see me tomorrow. I left the school with a smile on my face for the first time.

These people may not be "model students" but they are my new friends nonetheless.


	3. Chapter 3

I walked into the house and saw my dad, watching television.

"Hey dad what's up?"

He looked up from his chair and gave me a smile as a walked through the door.

"Not much, just watching some TV. There's not much to do today, I got the day off." He said.

"You got the whole day off?" I asked.

"Yep, now all I have to do is pick up Goten at two-thirty. Your mom usually does it but she's working late today."

"Want to hear about my day?" I asked.

"Sure."

This is one of the things I loved about my dad being back. I could talk to him about my day and come to him with any problems I had.

We had wished dad back a few months ago with the Dragon balls and he's got already got a job as a security guard. It's perfect for him, and one of the things I love most about him is that no matter what his hours are he always makes sure he has plenty of time for his family. It's great having him back.

After I finished telling my dad about my day (well…minus the cheating and smoking) he told me how happy he was that I was making friends. We talked for a few more minutes until dad had to go pick Goten up from school.

"Back in a few!" he said before taking off.

I went inside and got a soda and made myself a sandwich. After that Goten and my dad still weren't back. I sat down and watched some TV, thirty minutes passed and they weren't back. I decided to call my dad.

"Hello?"

"When are you coming back?" I asked.

"Sorry it's taking a while, Goten wanted to stop by the park and play. I'll be home in about an hour. He's just having so much fun! Gotta go! Bye!" he said and hung up the phone.

"What am I supposed to do for an hour?" I groaned and leaned back in the chair.

"I could do my homework." I thought out loud.

I went to my room and sat at my desk. The teacher had given us a worksheet to do.

"Math got a lot harder when they started putting letters in it, but hey who doesn't like a good challenge!" I said to myself as I worked on my homework. Suddenly my cell phone rang. It was an unknown number.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Gohan? Is that you?"

"Who's this?"

"Jarred."

"Oh. Hey, yeah it's me. How'd you get my number?" I asked.

"It's on your Facebook…" he said.

"Oh cool…so what's up?"

"Are you busy?"

"Just doing my homework." I said.

"Can you finish it later? Me and the gang are going to get Pizza. Do you want to come?"

"Sure!"

"Great, meet us outside of Harley's Pizza in ten minutes. You know where that is right?"

"Yep. I'll see you then." I said and hung up the phone.

I decided to change before I left, I'd been wearing these clothes all day and I was kind of sweaty. So I put on Jeans and a shirt. Just a casual outfit. After I was changed I left the house and took off flying in the direction of Harley's. When I landed everyone was there.

"Hey guys." I said.

"Hey! You ready?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Good I'm starving."

We went into the restaurant and sat at a booth and a waitress came and took our orders.

"So, how was the rest of your day Gohan?" Sharpener asked.

"Pretty good."

"Did you know that we have a class together and we haven't realized it until today?" Erasa asked.

"Really?" Jarred asked.

"Yeah, we even sit by each other. I guess I just didn't notice him. He's kind of quiet in class…except for today. I got him to joke around and let loose. It was so cute, he has a really cute laugh." She said.

I blushed and smiled sheepishly at the group.

"Erasa, stop hitting on Gohan. You're embarrassing him. Look he's blushing."

Erasa giggled and sat back. She kept glancing at me…I'm pretty sure she likes me. That's weird. I've never had a girl hit on me before. I shrugged it off as the waitress came with our food. I started eating my pizza and I looked at Erasa who kept glancing at me while eating small bites of her cheese pizza.

Jarred noticed and nudged me. "Outside talk and smoke now?" he asked.

"Finish pizza first?" I asked.

"Whatever."

"You're a pretty cool guy." Landon said.

"Yeah, you look like you can hold your own in a fight. We like that." Dylan said.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Jarred said.

"Well, it doesn't hurt to ask." Dylan said.

"Ask what?" I asked.

"How would you like to be part of a gang?" Jarred asked.

"What, like killing people? No way dude!"

"No! No way! It's basically just drug trafficking to make money. We like people who can hold their own in a fight because sometimes, people don't like to pay up, we gotta fight them for our money."

"I don't need the money."

"It's not just about the money, we develop very close strong friendships, but we can really only be close friends with people in the gang. We don't trust anyone else not to spread our secrets. We know you don't quite fit in Gohan. We're not asking you to kill people, just to help us make money. We split the profits equally so you'll be getting your fair share." Jarred said.

I looked down at my half eaten pizza. This offer seemed very tempting at the moment.

"Can I ask you a few questions?" I asked Jarred, who seemed to be the leader of the group.

"Yes."

"Does my family have to know?"

"They can't know."

"What if I decide to quit?"

"You have to go through a ritual which basically involves Sharpener, the twins and I beating the shit out of you."

"Is there a ritual to join?" I asked.

"Not one that involves us hurting you. It's like an initiation."

"What is it?"

"We can only tell you if you decide to join. So is it worth the risk or not? That's up to you Gohan, but since we shared this information with you. I kind of need an answer now." Jarred said.

I looked around the table, I looked at Erasa she was leaning towards me with pleading eyes. I took a breath.


	4. Chapter 4

I took a breath. Seriously looking around the group of people. Videl, Sharpener, Landon, Dylan, Erasa and Jarred wanted me to belong to their gang.

"Gohan we need an answer now, I'd like to finish my pizza before it turns cold." Jarred said.

I noticed Erasa's eyes. I found myself looking into them and I nodded my head. "I guess."

"I guess?" he asked.

"Yes. Yes, I'll join." I said.

"Awesome. You're just the kind of person we need. You know that you can't take this decision back without a consequence." He said.

I wasn't really afraid of Jarred kicking my ass because I'm a lot stronger than he is. I'm not going to say that to his face I could feel his energy and for some reason it was relatively high for a humans, but still I saved the world. I didn't need to be afraid of anyone. So I just nodded and said yes.

"I'll accept the consequences. It's fine. I said I'd join so I'll join."

Jarred grinned and reached out to shake my hand. I shook his back.

"Let's finish our pizza now." He said.

"Couldn't agree more." I said biting into my pizza.

I saw Erasa smile...It was so weird! I don't know why but I wanted her to be happy…maybe that's why I did this, maybe that's why I said yes. I looked right into her eyes right before I said yes. I'll have to talk to Piccolo about this. I couldn't tell my dad, he'd kill me if he knew I joined a gang. I couldn't tell my mom, she'd castrate me if she knew my problem involved a girl and Goten was too young to understand these kinds of things.

I sighed and finished up my Pizza around the same time as Jarred.

"Smoke now?" he asked.

"Sure."

We put the money for our food on the table and stood up. "We'll meet you guys outside when you're done." He said.

We walked out and Jarred handed me a cigarette. I took it and he lit it for me. I copied him again, breathing in the smoke. There was less coughing this time.

"So…I needa talk to you about Erasa." He said sitting on a bench, he motioned for me to sit next to him.

"Okay." I said, and I sat down next to him.

"She's my sister."

"Really? You two look nothing alike." I said.

"Well, I'm adopted. My parents were druggies…I guess it runs in the family," He laughed lightly and finished his cigarette, he lit another one. I was still smoking the first one he gave me. "Anyways, I just wanted to tell you…"

"Tell me you were her brother?" I asked.

"No. Look, I know she has a thing for you. And judging by the way you're acting around her, I can tell you have a thing for her too."

"Look, I've never had a girlfriend. This is all new to me, I've never had feelings for a girl before…so I don't exactly know where to take things."

"Erasa likes to go from zero to one thousand. She likes to rush things which usually results in her getting hurt, if you hurt her, I hurt you. Consider this your first and **only **warning. I hate to say it but you seem like a nice guy. I don't want to feel like an idiot if you prove me wrong." He said.

"You don't have to worry about that." I said, my cigarette running out. He handed me another one, I accepted it and he lit it.

"Why don't I have to worry about that Gohan?" he asked.

"I'm a nice guy. I won't hurt her."

"Well then why haven't you asked her out? I told you, she goes from zero to one thousand and she's been sending out signals left and right!"

"I told you I'm new at this!" I said

"Well here's some advice. Just go up to her, and say, Erasa, would you like to go on a date with me? Trust me she'll say yes."

"You really think?"

"Yes."

"What should we do on the date?"

"Go see a movie, go shopping. Whatever…oh look, here they come. You better do it." He said. I nodded and walked up to her.

"Hey Erasa, would you like to go on a date with me?" I asked, repeating the words Jarred had said a few minutes ago.

"Yes! Finally you've asked me!" she said throwing her arms around me in a hug.

I noticed everyone was staring at us. I blushed for the second time that day.

"Okay, so Saturday night, around seven how about a movie?" she asked.

"Sounds good." I said smiling. It might be fun. This is my first date.

"And about your initiation, I'll go home, think about it and tell you tomorrow. Meet me in front of the school before school starts and I'll tell you." Jarred said.

"Alright." I said, putting out my smoke.

"I'll see you later." Dylan said. Landon nodded a goodbye.

"I'll see you tomorrow." I said, turning to leave.

"Don't forget." Jarred said.

"I know." I said and turned the corner. When I decided it was safe, I took off flying. Not towards home but towards the lookout, I needed some advice from my best friend.


	5. Chapter 5

When I got to the lookout I saw Dende. He ran up to me and said hi.

"Looking for Piccolo?" he asked.

"Yeah. Where is he?"

"Meditating over there." He said pointing. I looked over him and saw Piccolo.

"Piccolo!" I shouted, waving my hands to get his attention. I saw him open one of his eyes, look at me then close it. He motioned for me to come closer.

I walked over to him and tackled him to the ground.

"Hey! Watch it!" he yelled.

We heard Dende laughing from where he was watching us. I helped him up and gave him a big grin.

"I was just playing with you. Don't tell me that hurt you. You're stronger than that." I teased.

"Kid, you're gonna be the death of Me." he grumbled. I laughed and sat down on a rail next to him.

"Actually Piccolo, I came here for some advice. You said I could come to you for anything right?"

He nodded, silently giving me assurance.

"Well…you know how I told you I started going to public school and I wasn't making any friends and I hate it there?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, I met this guy he was mean at first then he asked me to do something…which was kind of against the rules, but he said it was only if we got caught and-"

"What did he ask you to do?" he asked, interrupting my story.

"Well…he asked if he could cheat off of me." I said.

"You didn't let him right?"

"Well, he said he'd be my friend and I didn't have any and so…"

"Gohan. That was wrong." Piccolo said looking down at me, I tried to avoid his gaze as he told me to continue on with my story.

"We didn't get caught and after class he said I could eat lunch with him and his friends, so I did and they are really nice people. They accepted me immediately. We were just talking and eating." I said.

"That's good." He said.

"Then Jarred asked me to smoke with him and I had never done it before but I decided to try anyways. Everyone else did it…I didn't like it but I felt like I really fit in when I was holding that cigarette in my hands. Weird but good." I said.

"Smoking Gohan? I…I don't like these new friends of yours."

"You wouldn't. They invited me out for Pizza after school. Which was great because it's been forever since I've had pizza. So I went to get pizza with them. Then we started talking about something else. Piccolo, what I'm about to tell you can never leave the lookout got it?"

"Sure."

"I'm serious." I said.

"Okay, okay! I won't say anything kid. Just tell me."

"They wanted me to join their gang. Like I was shocked at first then I was like, I am NOT killing anyone. Then they explained it's not a violent type of gang. Unless they need to be. "

"A gang?" Piccolo asked. I could tell by the way he said it that he didn't approve.

"They deal with drugs, they use them to make money, I don't exactly need the money now but if I save it up it could come in handy later in life, I could use it to pay for college! We all get our fair share of the money. So I said yes. So now I'm in a gang." I told him.

"You're just trying to justify your reasons for joining. You know it's wrong. Now I really don't like these new friends of yours."

"Well…it makes sense to me. Are you mad?" I asked.

"Not mad. Disappointed. I know you know the difference between right and wrong, and this just isn't you. I can feel your desire to fit in but this is not the way to do it."

"I haven't done anything wrong yet." I said.

"Cheating is wrong."

"I guess…but it's just one small thing. I won't ever do it again and I won't do anything too dangerous with the gang. If it gets too bad, I'll get out." I promised.

"Good, that's what I like to hear. Is that all you came to talk about?" he asked.

"Uh…well no. I came to talk to you about a girl problem."

"Okay then."

"Well it's one of the girls in the gang, Erasa, I've never had a girlfriend and she likes to take things fast. So I'm not exactly sure where I want this relationship to go, I mean I know I want it to go somewhere and she's all over me. It's kind of embarrassing but I like it…I asked her out and she said yes, it just feels weird…" I said as it all came out in one big sentence.

Piccolo was silent for a moment. I hoped he had some good advice, because I sure needed some.

"She likes to take things fast obviously, judging by the fact it's been one day and she wants to go out with you. You need to take things slow because you don't seem to know what you're doing. My suggestion is to go on your date. Ask questions when you need to and follow your instinct. If she tries to do something you're not ready for tell her. If she really likes you she'll respect that." He said.

"Thanks, that helped some but can you explain why it feels so weird?" I asked.

"It's your first crush. Just give it time. The more comfortable you get with the feeling the more it will feel like normal."

I nodded.

"Thanks, you've really helped today. Thanks for listening, and I know I can trust you not to tell my parents."

He sighed.

"It doesn't leave the lookout but if you get hurt…just… don't get hurt. I don't approve of any of this, but I know I can't stop you, even if I tried. You always find a way to do things."

"Can I still come to you with my problems?" I asked.

"Sure."

"You're a good friend Piccolo. I didn't mean to worry you. I just thought I had to tell you the whole situation for you to understand." I said.

"Seriously, don't get hurt Gohan. You don't want me to have to kill your new friends do you?"

"No."

"Just remember, I will."

I laughed and playfully punched him. He returned it with a full force punch knocking me onto the ground. "Hey!" I yelled.

"That's for tackling me earlier." He laughed.

"Mind if I meditate with you?" I asked standing up.

"If you want."

I nodded and copied his meditative stance. After what seemed like an hour I felt like someone tap on my knee. I opened one eye and saw Dende.

"Hey Gohan, I just thought you should know your cell phone is going off. It's on the rail where you were sitting. Sorry for interrupting your meditating. " He said politely.

"It's fine Dende."

I picked my phone up from the rail and saw my mom's name appear on caller ID. "Hello?" I asked.

"Gohan where are you?"

"At the lookout meditating with Piccolo." I said.

"It's getting late don't you think?"

I looked at my watch. It was almost seven.

"Not really, but I guess I need to finish my homework." I laughed.

"Okay sweetie. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I told you I'm just meditating. I'll see in a few." I said hanging up the phone.

I turned to look at Piccolo. "Hey I gotta go finish my homework. I'll see you soon, how about I stop by next week?" I asked.

"Sure. Sounds good." He said.

I turned around and said bye to Dende, then I took off in the direction of my house.


	6. Chapter 6

I walked in the door and went to the kitchen. Even though I had just eaten a few hours ago, it felt like ages. I opened the fridge and pulled out an apple.

"Gohan is that you?" Mom yelled.

"Yeah mom, I'm home." I said taking a bite of my apple.

She walked into the kitchen with her hands on her hips. She looked angry.

"Am I in trouble?" I asked.

"You know you really shouldn't leave without asking, I was worried." She said.

"Sorry. No one called so I figured I was alright."

"I was working late and your father was busy helping Goten with his homework."

"Sorry mom, next time I'll ask, or leave a note. No one was home." I said.

"Good. That's all I ask. I was worried sick. You know how I am." She laughed.

I gave her a grin and nodded. She gave me a hug and told me to finish my homework so I could get into a good college.

"Okay mom. Although I think I'll just go to a community college and become a trash man or something." I joked.

"Not funny Gohan!"

I laughed and hurried to my room to finish my worksheet.

NEXT MORNING:

"Bye mom!" I said. I putting my homework in my bag.

"Are you sure you want to leave so early?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm meeting someone before school." I said opening the door, and before she could say anything else or ask any more questions I took off.

I landed a block away from the school and walked the rest of the way. I saw Jarred leaning against a tree. The others were there but they were sitting on a bench a few feet away watching us. I guess they weren't a part of this conversation.

"Hey." I greeted him.

"Glad you could make it. I was afraid you'd chicken out."

"Really?"

"Ha, I'm just joking with you. I figured out what your initiation would be you ready to hear it?"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Sharpener, being the dumbass he is, wrecked his car driving drunk the other night. So he needs a new one. Problem is he's broke as fuck. You need to provide him with a new car by tomorrow morning."

"How am I supposed to get a car by tomorrow morning?"

"That's not really my problem, but you know the consequences if you don't."

He called the others over to us and told them of my initiation. "And none of you are allowed to help him. If I find out he had help, there WILL be consequences for Gohan and for the person who helped him."

"What is he supposed to do Jarred? Buy the car?" Dylan asked.

"Like I told Gohan, not my problem…" he said and walked off.

The others followed him and I felt alone again. I know schools about to start but I needed some advice. Piccolo really needs to get a cell phone! I thought as I took off towards the lookout.

When I got there it was quiet.

"Piccolo!" I yelled.

I sighed when no one came out. "Dende!" I tried. No one.

"Mr. Popo!"

Finally! It worked. Mr. Popo came outside and smiled when he saw me.

"Hi Mr. Popo, where is everyone? I called their names." I asked.

"They're all over. Piccolo heard you, but he ignored you saying you should be in school right now, Dende is busy setting up some new furniture he got yesterday, so I doubt he heard you."

"New furniture?"

"Yes, he thought the place could use some sprucing up."

"Ah…can I see?" I asked.

"Yes, right this way." He said.

I followed him around and Dende was setting up some chairs and an outside table. I laughed at the cute décor.

"Nice." I said walking up to the young nemekian.

"Gohan! Oh, I didn't realize you were here! What do you think it's not finished yet, but I just started thirty minutes ago. You should come by tomorrow, I'll probably be done by then." He said.

"Yeah, I'll definitely come back tomorrow. Now, can anyone tell me where Piccolo is?"

"He was here. He went somewhere in town to do something. He should be back soon if you want to wait." Dende said.

"Oh, well sure I'll wait. I can help you out while I wait if you'd like." I said.

"Sure, that'd be great!"

I set my schoolbag on the ground and went to help Dende. He handed me an umbrella and told me to set it up beside the table.

"Yes…that looks nice." He said surveying my work.

"Thanks!"

"So what do you think of the sofa? Too much? Piccolo hates it, I think he's just in a bad mood today…maybe seeing your face will cheer him up!" Dende said.

I looked over at the sofa, it was cute and it matched the rest of the furniture. I didn't have a sofa in my yard…but come to think of it, my yard doesn't really have any decorations in it.

"It's not too much! I like it! Piccolo's a party pooper. Is that where you want it or do you want to move it somewhere?" I asked.

"I want it over there." He said pointing.

I nodded and lifted it easily moving it across from the table. I set it down gently and Dende helped me put the cushions on it. When we were finished we both took a seat.

"It's so soft." I said.

"Yes, quite relaxing. Couldn't you just fall asleep on it?"

"Yeah. It's perfect for an afternoon nap or just sitting and reading a good book."

"Yeah…good book." Dende mumbled.

I yawned suddenly feeling really tired. I don't know if it was because it was early in the morning, or maybe I just didn't get enough sleep last night, but my eyes closed and I fell asleep beside Dende.


	7. Chapter 7

"What the hell are you two doing?"

I slowly opened my eyes and looked around. Dende was leaning on me fast asleep. I sat up and he fell off of me. It startled him enough to wake him up, we looked up and saw Piccolo standing over us.

"Hey, I came here to talk to you but you went somewhere. So I started helping Dende set his furniture up, and we sat on the couch and I guess we kinda fell asleep…this couch is just so comfortable." I explained.

"I can't believe I fell asleep. I picked a good one Gohan!" Dende said.

"I know right! Piccolo, come sit!" I said, smiling and patting on the spot next to me. He shook his head and continued to stand over us, glaring at me.

"Or not…"

"So what is it you wanted to talk about Gohan?" Piccolo asked.

"Oh yeah! Dende, could you excuse us for a minute?"

"Sure, I'll just enjoy a few more minutes on this sofa…goodnight…people of earth." He mumbled, falling back asleep.

"Uh…should we worry? Aren't Nemekians supposed to stay awake?"

"They don't have to. They just don't need to sleep as much as you do, Dende probably isn't even tired. He just likes the comfort of the sofa."

"Oh…so where were you? Dende said you went into town to get something." I said.

"Yeah, here." He said and threw something at me.

"Wha-Oh wow! Thanks Piccolo! You didn't have to!" I said excitedly.

I looked at the item in my hands. I can't believe Piccolo actually got me the telescope I was telling him about two weeks ago. I joined a science club and I wanted the best telescope possible for when we went on an overnight camping trip to study astronomy. This telescope is six hundred dollars.

"How did you get the money?" I asked.

"I had some saved up. I wasn't gonna use it, and I was gonna give it to Dende to buy more furniture but I used it on you."

"So you didn't give Dende any? Aw, I feel bad now."

"Relax I gave him some of what was left over. I spent six hundred on your telescope, gave Dende two hundred and kept five hundred. Don't tell Dende I have the money, he'll pester me into giving it to him."

"Ha, your secrets safe with me. Thanks Piccolo!" I said again, I couldn't get over the thoughtfulness he put into getting me this telescope. I put the telescope in my bag so it wouldn't get damaged and thanked Piccolo again.

He nodded.

"Now with that out of the way, why aren't you at school?" he asked.

"I needed to talk to you about something."

"Is it those new friends of yours?" he asked.

"Yeah…so for my initiation into the gang I have to get a car and give it to one of the gang members, Sharpener by tomorrow and none of the other members are allowed to help me. I don't know what I'm going to do Piccolo…" I said.

"Hmm…you can't buy one obviously. You need to have a license and money for that."

"Yeah, buying a car isn't an option."

"You can't make one by tomorrow…maybe I can materialize one for you."

"Like you materialize clothes?" I asked.

"Yeah. I've never attempted to make anything other than clothes before though, so I don't know if it's possible but I can try."

"Alright." I said.

Piccolo stood up and looked at me.

"Do you have anything in mind? It helps if I have a mental image."

"Uh…I know Sharpeners car was red, so a red car." I said.

"I need more than that Gohan."

"Uhh…it needs to look cool. Like…can you try and see the mental image I have in my mind? Because this is kind of hard for me to describe." I said.

"I might be able to, but I need you to concentrate. Focus on the image and don't lose sight of it."

I nodded and waited, after about fifteen minutes Piccolo nodded. "I see. Alright keep the image in your mind and I'll try to conjure up a car." He said.

I nodded and closed my eyes, concentrating very hard on keeping the image of the car in my head. I heard him fire a beam, I didn't open my eyes to see it yet because I didn't want to lose concentration. When I sensed he was finished I slowly opened my eyes and Piccolo stood there silently admiring his work.

"Wow…it's a car." I said.

"No shit."

"Does it work?" I asked.

"You tell me, I never got my license."

"I only have a permit…but I guess I could give it a go." I said stepping inside the car and sitting down. Piccolo handed me a key and I started the car. The engine started up beautifully, and I put it in gear driving it around the lookout.

"Watch it Gohan!" Piccolo shouted.

"I'm being careful!" I laughed. I circled twice around and came to a stop.

Piccolo flew up to me. "Okay you've had your fun." He growled.

"How much is it? I have…well, I only have a twenty on me." I said looking through my pockets.

"I don't expect you to pay me in cash."

"How do I have to pay you?"

"Just stay out of trouble kid. Got that?" he asked.

"Yeah…I'll do my best. Thanks Piccolo."

"Do you need help moving it down to earth?" he asked.

"No. I'm strong enough to do it myself." I laughed.

He nodded and closed his eyes, resuming a meditative position. I took the key and put it in my pocket, after that picked the car with little effort and took off.

I flew slower than I had before because I didn't want to drop the car. So it took me about an hour to get to the school. I looked at my watch, it was noon. That meant it was lunchtime. I missed all of my morning classes.

I shook my head and walked into the school, everyone was at lunch. I got my lunch and looked for the gang. I saw them sitting at a table talking. I walked up to them and sat down beside Erasa, Jarred glared at me.

"Where the hell were you second period?" he asked.

I didn't answer. Instead I took the key to the car out of my pocket and threw it to Sharpener.

"You'll be needing this." I said.

Jarreds glare turned into a disbelieving stare. "How the hell did you get a car so fast?" he asked.

"That's not important."

"Is it a nice car?" Sharpener asked.

"You'll like it."

"Jarred can we go see it?!" he asked.

Jarred stood up motioning for us to follow. We went outside wordlessly and I led him to the car.

"Whoa...did you steal it?" he asked.

"No."

"Where'd you get it?"

"Does it matter?" I asked

"I guess not…good job man. I don't know how you did it but you did good." Jarred said.

"Can we go for a drive now?" Sharpener asked.

"Sure. Everyone in?" Jarred asked.

I shook my head. "Lunch is over in five minutes and I missed the first two classes, I can't miss any more." I said.

"Well if Gohan isn't going, I'm not going. I don't want him to be all alone!" Erasa said.

"Gohan you're not gonna miss much and whatever you do miss you can makeup." Jarred said.

I sighed. I know skipping is wrong, but then again…I already missed my first two classes. So it's not so bad if I miss the next three. Right?

"I guess you're right. Fine. I'll go." I said.

"Cool, happy Erasa?" Jarred asked.

"YES!" She said.

She opened the door and hopped in the car. Jarred rushed in beside her pulling Videl in with him. Dylan and Landon followed leaving me with shotgun.

I got in the car and

"Where are we going?" Landon asked.

"The pit?" Sharpener suggested. Jarred nodded in approval.

"What's the pit?" I asked.

"A druggie's paradise." Videl remarked. I could hear the distaste in her voice. It was obvious she didn't want to go there.

"Why don't we go to Harley's instead?" Erasa asked. I could hear the same thing in her voice that I heard in Videl's.

"We don't want to get caught cutting class, do we?" Dylan asked laughing.

"I guess not…"

I looked at the two girls, they didn't seem to be big fans of "The Pit", Sharpener pulled away and started driving. We drove for about twenty minutes before stopping. Sharpener got out of the car. Jarred got out next, swinging the door open. Everyone else followed, I was the last to get out of the car.

"We're here. Welcome to the pit." Jarred said.

"Oh…cool."

We walked down a tunnel and it opened into an area that was shaped like an inlet. Other people were there smoking and hanging out. Nothing too bad.

I felt something get shoved into my hand. I held it up and saw it was a cigarette.

"Here" Jarred said handing me a lighter.

I nodded and lit it. I noticed I wasn't the only one smoking. This time everyone had a cigarette in their hand and it made me feel less awkward.

"Thanks." I said.

"So Gohan, you're one of us now. How's that feel?" Jarred asked.

"I dunno. It feels okay I guess."

"Just okay?"

"Well…it does feel good to have friends." I smiled.

Erasa ran up to me and grabbed my arm. "Come with me Gohan!"

"You better not be taking him to the cavern." Jarred said.

"Why not? It's not occupied right now."

"What's the cavern?" I asked.

"It's a cave people go to, to make out and have sex." Jarred said bluntly, glaring at me.

"I just wanted to get to know him better." Erasa said, innocently.

"I know your version of getting to know someone better." Dylan laughed, but stopped when Jarred glared at him.

"You're not the boss of me!" Erasa said and started dragging me towards the cavern.

"I don't know about th-" I didn't have time to finish my protests as I was pushed into a cave, secluded from people. Giving anyone inside complete privacy. Erasa took a sign and put it outside.

"It lets people know that it's occupied." She explained.

"I'm a virgin!" I blurted out.

She giggled. "I figured."

"Are we going to…?"

"No. You seem like the nice guy type. The type of guy to take things slow? Am I right?" Erasa asked.

I nodded.

"Okay, well let's just talk."

"Sounds like a good idea to me." I said.

"So what made you decide to go to public school?" she asked.

"I was tired of staying at home. The only interaction I had was with my family and old family friends. I wanted to experience new things, meet new people."

"People like me?" She asked.

"Honestly, I didn't expect to meet you and join a gang. My parents would kill me if they found out I wasn't in school right now, let alone a gang!"

"You don't like us?"

"No, I do! I like you guys a lot…I like you Erasa. I like you a lot."

"Gohan I want you to kiss me."

"I would but I've never kissed anybody. I might be bad at it."

"That's not possible." Erasa said confidently. She pulled me closer to her and I summoned up all the courage I had in me (Which wasn't much at the moment- I mean, I was about to kiss the hottest girl in school!) and I kissed her.

"I told you." She said pulling away.

"What?"

"There was no way possible you would be a bad kisser. That was amazing." She said.

I smiled as she rested her head on my chest. I could get used to this life. Being with Erasa every day, getting to hang out with my friends, everything feels so…perfect.


End file.
